Basic ECV questions

[jetprincess]

Hello fellow DISer's!

We are planning atrip for the first week of December and my elderly parents are planning on joining us for a few days. They don't normally use ECV's but they will need one at Disney. We thought that 1 would be enough and they could take turns using it when they needed it. They will need an ECV for the parks only.

So my questions:

Can you reserve an ECV and where do you go to rent one at Epcot and MK?

If you leave mid day, does it work the same way as stollers when you come back into the park in the afternoon?

How do the lines work? My stepdad can stand for short lines (10-15 mins) but there is no way he could stand for an hour in line. Can we stand in the regular line and he can go to a special place until we reach the front of the line to meet him?

If he is going to wait in the regular line, does he park the ECV in a certain area or does he park it in the stroller area?

I know these are questions that are probably asked a lot on this board. I appreciate your patience and the information!

TIA!

 

[SueM in MN]

if you have not checked the disABILITIES FAQs thread, I'd suggest going there because many of your questions can be answered there.
See post #2 of that thread for more complete answers to your first 2 questions.

Hello fellow DISer's!

We are planning atrip for the first week of December and my elderly parents are planning on joining us for a few days. They don't normally use ECV's but they will need one at Disney. We thought that 1 would be enough and they could take turns using it when they needed it. They will need an ECV for the parks only.

So my questions:

Can you reserve an ECV and where do you go to rent one at Epcot and MK?

no, you can't reserve one ahead of time.
If you get there when the park opens, there is a good chance they will have them, but no guarantee.
in all the parks, the rental for wheelchairs and ECVs is the same place as stroller rental.

If you leave mid day, does it work the same way as stollers when you come back into the park in the afternoon?

Yes.
You take your receipt and you can get another one when you come back.
If you are park hopping, there is no guarantee that one will be available when you get there.
If you are going back to the same park, it works a little different and I'm sure other posters will post to explain it.

How do the lines work? My stepdad can stand for short lines (10-15 mins) but there is no way he could stand for an hour in line. Can we stand in the regular line and he can go to a special place until we reach the front of the line to meet him?

most of the lines don't have any place where someone could wait and then meet you at the front.
most of the lines are constantly and slowly moving forward, so you are not standing totally still. If standing still, walking slowly over a fair distance or walking long distances are a problem, the advice WDW gives is to use a wheelchair or ECV.
To avoid long waits, you can use Fastpasses or use advice services like TourGuide Mike. But, keep in mind that even if the wait is short, some of the walking distances to get from the attraction entrance to the boarding area is a very long walk. In most cases, the Fastpass line is the same distance as the regular line; it's just that less people are in that area.

If he is going to wait in the regular line, does he park the ECV in a certain area or does he park it in the stroller area?

Pretty much all of the attractions at AK and the Studio have Mainstream Lines, which means that the lines are wheelchair and ECV accessible.
MK and Epcot are older and a little less accessible, so not all the lines are Mainstream, but many are.
The Mainstream attractions are marked on the park maps with a little wheelchair icon with the person seated. There are others marked with a wheelchair symbol with the person getting out of the wheelchair. Those have wheelchair accessible lines, but a transfer to a ride car needs to be made.

If he is going to walk in line, ask the CM at the entrance where to park and also how far the walk from the queue entrance to the show/boarding is.
We've been in line at Bug's Life where the wait was basically as fast as you could get from the queue entrance to the show entrance, so people left their ECVs outside. They didn't realize how long the walk was though and had to stop frequently for rests.

Also, the off-site rental ECVs are smaller and more manouverable, so easier to get thru lines. So, you may want to look into those. There is information about rental places in the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

 

[jetprincess]

Thank you Sue!

In the Mainstream lines, do you just wait for a CM to direct you to the area where you leave the ECV before you get on the ride? Or is everything marked?

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you Sue!

In the Mainstream lines, do you just wait for a CM to direct you to the area where you leave the ECV before you get on the ride? Or is everything marked?

Usually, there is either a CM at the queue entrance who will tell you what to look for or there will be a CM at the pull-off point.
when you see you are getting near to the boarding area, look around for a gate or a chain marked with a wheelchair symbol. If it is a chain or a gate that doesn't just push open easily, wait there for the CM.

Also, get a copy of the Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities for each park. You can pick them up from Guest Relations or there is a link to the text to the guidebooks in the disABILITIES FAQs thread in post #3.